As the healthy brood is ready to head back home, the nine miracle children who broke the world record and were born to the same lady are shown together for the first time. Five months after making headlines across the world when she smashed the previous world record set by “Octomum” Nadya Suleman in 2009, who gave birth to eight live kids, Halima Cisse is now shining with her nonuplets.
Ms Cisse’s nine children, who were delivered naturally, weighed between 500gm and 1kg at birth and had to be kept in incubators in the clinic’s intensive care unit for the first few months of their lives, where they were cared for round the clock by a team of physicians and nurses. But now that they’ve all gained weight and continuing to grow, they’ll be able to return to Mali soon. Ms. Cisse and her partner, 35-year-old Kader Arby, honored the babies’ six-month birthdays by publishing these heartfelt new photos of them altogether.
The youngsters — Oumar, Elhadji, Bah, and Mohammed VI – are dressed in green romper suits with the word ‘Brother’ on them in the latest photos. Meanwhile, the girls — Adama, Oumou, Hawa, Kadidia, and Fatouma – are dressed in pink and baby blue. All of the Arby tots are Malian citizens, and Djaminatou Sangare, the country’s Health Minister, paid them a visit last week to figure out how they could be safely airlifted to Bamako, the Malian capital, which is around 2,500 miles from Casablanca. They were taken off the incubators in early August, and the family has been living in a flat near the hospital since then so that medical staff may continue to monitor them.
We revealed in July how Halima was getting through a staggering 100 nappies per day and six liters of milk – but that she was too tired to look after them and spent most of her days sleeping and watching television. But now her strength is returning too. ‘Having one child is difficult enough, but having nine is unthinkable,’ Halima added. ‘The amount of work that goes into care after them is incredible.’ I appreciate the hard work of the medical staff and the resources provided by the Mali government.’ Halima gave birth by C-section with the help of her sister, Aisha, while her husband stayed at home in Timbuktu, Mali. Kader was initially unable to fly owing to C.O.V.I.D travel restrictions, but after ten days in quarantine, he landed in Morocco on July 9.
So far, the care bill has topped £1 million, with the Malian government picking up the majority of the tab. Doctors estimated that her belly alone weighed about 30 kg, made up of the infants and amniotic fluid, and she almost ᴅɪᴇᴅ from ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ loss during the delivery. The couple married in 2017 and have a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Souda, who is being cared for by relatives. Kader, a Malian Navy sailor, recognized that providing for his family would be financially difficult.
They have 10 children and reside in a modest three-bedroom house, which he says they will have to enlarge to suit them. Kader and Halima are also grateful for the ‘loads of words of support from well-wishers from around the world who write heart-warming comments online,’ according to Kader. Doctors in Mali told the couple that Halima was carrying seven infants, with only a 50 percent chance of any of them surviving. She spent two weeks in Bamako’s Point G Hospital before being transferred to Morocco, thanks to the intervention of Mali’s then-Transition President, Bah N’Daw.
As a result, one of the lads is known as Bah. Another bears the name Mohamed VI, after Morocco’s King. ‘My wife is an only child, while I have eight brothers and sisters,’ Kader, a devout Muslim, added. Except for Allah’s mercy, there is nothing in our family history to explain how this happened. He has given us these children as a gift.’ The names of the newborns were revealed seven days after their birth, as per Islamic tradition. Kadidia, 2kg840, Mohammed VI, 3kg315, Fatouma, 3kg130, Oumar, 2kg400, Hawa, 1kg585, Adama, 2kg720, Bah, 2kg900, Oumou, 2kg795, and El Hadji, 1kg870 were born in the following order: Kadidia, 2kg840, Mohammed VI, 3kg315, Fatouma, 3kg130, Oumar, 2kg400, Hawa, 1kg.
